Circular-knitting machine.



A. M. PIGEON.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19. IBM.

'1 $66,044:. 7 Patented May14,1918.

l4 SHEEl$-SHEET FIG". 1:

wart/7f 171 can,

A. M. PIGEON.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19. Hill.

1,266,044. Patented 14,1918.

14 SH SHEE1 2.

A. M. PlGEON.

- CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FIL ED JUNE 19. $911.

1 ,266,04=4:. Patented Mdyl i, 1918.

I 4 SHEEISSHEET 4.

IIIIIIIIIIIII I attorney Al Ml CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FIL ED JUNE l9. 19H.

Patented May14,1918.

l4 SHEEIS-SHEET 5.

Q Imam tor A. M. PIGEON.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19, [911.

1,266,044. Patented May 14, 1918.

'14 SHEEIISSHEE1 e.

Inwenwr dlliuvnupf A. M. PIGEON.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATIONVFILED JUNE l9. I911.

1,266,044. "Patented May14,1918.

. I 14 $HEETSSHEET I- Fzam m $5 I Q W A. M. PIGEON.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19; 19H 1,266,044. Patented May 14, 1918;

I4 SHEEIS-SHEET 9.

Iwuentor fllbarl' MPiyeozg Gwmmw M I I p W A. M PIGEON. CIRCULARKNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION F|LEDJUNE19 |9H| 1,266,044. I Patented May14, 1918.

[II-l. Mill 'mm F Il all-l I a l!' w 176 u A. M. PIGEON. CIRCULARKNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED .IUNE I9. I9II- I 1 ,266,044, Patented May14,1918.

I4 SHEEISSHEE'I II.

FIGEJ Inventor fllertMP 602g 4/ 7 r A. M. PIG'EON. CIRCUL'AB KNITTINGMACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE |9 I911: 1,266,044. Patented May1-1',19l8.

l4 SHEEIS-SHEEI 12.

FIG M fllbartMPzyeom a pp A. M. PIGEON. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I9. 19]]- 1,266,044. Patented May14,1918.

'14 SHEEIS-SHEET l3. r v l ImaeMor A. M. PIGEON.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE I9. 1911.

Patented May14, 1918.

I4 SHEEIS-SHEET I4- FIGJI/YZZZ FIG-1121f. M FIGJZHZ Z122 120 0 12 My110-;

Imemor flZDaZM 17980124 Q STATES AT NTYO FICE.

ALBERT I. 'PIGEON, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR '10 PIG EONCHINE COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION or rmmsnvmm.

' omcnnanrxnrrrmc monm'n.

Patented May 14, 1918.-

Application filed .Tune 19, 1911. Serial No. 683,988. 1

A further ob i ect' of the invention is to To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT'M. PIenoN,

vented certain new and useful Improvements in Circular -'KnittingMachines,. whereof the following is a specification,

reference being had to the accompanying drawin The invention relatesmore especially-to knitting machines." of the 1 cylinder type wherein'the cylinder. may be rotated for circular lmitting or oscillated atcertain intervals if desired.

An object of the invention is to provide a needle cylinder with springbeard needles .which may be placed very, close to ether and whichneedles are so constructed that the yarn may reeve through the hook endsthereof whereby the needles may be moved in succession beneath thefabric supporting bed for drawing 01f fabric loops and whereby theposition of the fabric bed may be varied relative to the workingposition of the" 1needles for fashioning the lmitted artic e. i

A further object of the invention consists in providing the springbeardneedles with yarn supporters which are so constructed that .theyarn extends straight along the shanks of the needles without in any waybeing bent by the supporters and which sup porters operate to hold theyarn at a proper A distance above A the point of closing thebeards ofthe needles so that sufiicient time is allowed for the placing of theyarn underneath the beards.

, of the needles before said beards are closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a yarn supporter whichma be ad-. -justed for varying the height of t e 9 held by the supporteron'the needle shank.

A further-OBJect of the invention is to provide individual yarnsupporters for each needle with inclined forward ends, which andpositively forced underneath the cards of the needles, the inclinedforward ends of knitting point and the yarn feed forms a.

V-shaped channel for the thread. i

provide a needlecylinder with stitch cams and a yarn feed which arerelatively so disposed that the yarn extending from the knitting-pointto the yarn feed is drawn against the shanks of the needles.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved devices forraising and.

lowering the needle cylinder so that the size of the needl'eloop may bevaried to fashion the article and that the fabric loopsmay be adjustedand so that the size of the fabric loops in one part of the knittedarticlemay be varied without changing those in other parts of theknitted article.

A further'object of the invention is to provide an improved means foroscillating and rotating the needle cylinder whereby the parts may beoperated at high speed and may be quickly shifted from oscillating torotatlng movement; and whereby all possibility of lost motion is avoidedduring the oscillation of the needle cylinder.

A further object of the'invention is to provide devices for controllingthe'pickers so that the Widening of the stocking maybe commenced on thesame side of the knitted pocket as the narrowing thereof, so that auniform knitted pocket is formed.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will 'in part behereinafter more fully described,

In the, drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of theinvention, Figure'I, is a side view of a knitting v machine embodying myimprovements.

Fig-II, is a similar view of-the opposite side of the machine.

Fig. III, is a partial-end elevation looking from the left of, Fig. 1,showing the clutch shifting mechanism and the belt shifter, to-' getherwith the pattern controlled parts for operatin the same. J

: Fig; I- is a plan view of the supportin shelf, the needle cylinder andthe yarn fee yarn supporters are moved radially of the cylinder so thatthe yarn may be. supported in Fig. V, showing the'pickerszand theraising and depressing Fig. V, is" a vertical sectional view of .the.

lia ak n,

I; is a-plansectionahview the needle cylindertaken 011' the-lin VI, 1 4

Fig. VII, is a partial vertical sectional view from front to rearthrough the sup porting frame showing the main shaft, the pattern shaftand the gears and segments for operating the needle cylinder and thepattern shaft.

Fig.

and II, transversely through the supporting frame and through thebearings for the main shaft and the pattern shaft.

Fi IX, is a plan sectional view takemon the lines IX, IX, in Figs. I,and 11, showing in plan the operating ars. for the needle cylinder, thebracket or supporting the'needle bed and the fabric cage.

Fig. X, is a partialhorizontal sectional view on the lines X, X, inFigs. I, II, and III, showing the transverse shaft for supporting thepattern members in plan.

Fig. X1 is a detail showing the pawling ratchet and the connecting lugsbetween the same and the shifting drum for the clutch shifting lever. I

Fig. XII, is a detail View showing the pattern cam for controlling thereinforcing yarn.

Fig. XIII, is a .detail view'showin the pattern chain and the supportingpartst erefor.-

- Fig. XIV, is a development of the cam ring showing diagrammaticallythe stitch earns, the pickers, the raising and depressing cams, thebeard depressor cams and the yarn feed.

Fig. XV, is a detail view of'the upper end of the fabric cage showingthe take up rolls for the fabric and the manner of operating the same.

Fig. XVI, is an end view of the shifting drum for the clutch lever,looking from the left of Fig. VII.

' Fig. XVII, is a. detail view in section on the line XVII, XVII, inFig. II, showing the pattern wheel and the cooperating fin gers forraising and lowering the needle cylinder.

Fi XVIII, is a sectional view on the line VIII, XVIIL' in Fig. XVII,through the support for the fingers, for raising and lowering the needlecylinder. g

Fig. XIX, is a detailview showing the cam for raisin and lowering thebed upon which the nee e cylinder is supported.

Fig. XX, is a detail view showing the latch for holding the wideningpicker in inoperative position.

Fig. XXI, is a detail view showing in inverted plan the cams foroperating the yarn-supporting members.

Fig. XXII, is a diagrammatic view showing the needles, the yarn feed,the knitting;

point and the yarn supporters, the parts being shown in posltionstypical of continuous rotary knitting.

VIII, is a partial vertical section taken on the lines VIII, VIII, inFigs. I,

needle and the beard closed by the depressor. i

- Fig. XXVI, is a similar view showing the arn supporter partiallywithdrawn to reease the yarn for the downward movement of the needle.

In the present embodiment of the inven-I tion, the machine consistsgenerally in a needle cylinder, which is provided with a pluralit ofspring beard needles, the beards of whic are depressed by suitable bearddepressors, at the proper time to shedthe yarn loops therefrom. The

, am is fed to the needles by a yarn fee which includes a reinforcingyarn guide so that the heel and toe pockets may be suitably reinforced.The yarn feed is so disposed relative to the needle cylinder and theknitting point that the yarn leading from the feed to the knitting pointis pressed against the shanks of the needles. To aid in positioning theyarn for the needles, and in carrying the same underneath the beards ofthe needles, a yarn supporter is provided for each needle, whichproperly holds the yarn relative to the beard depressors, so that theyarn may be introduced underneath the heard before .the heard isdepressed to shed the needle loop. The

drawing off of the yarn is accomplished by the movement of theneedlesbeneath the supporting bed orledge for the fabric, the

hook of the needles being so shaped asto allow a free movement of theyarn for this purpose. The fashioning of the stocking is accomplished bycontrolling the.- movement of the needle cylinder so as to change thedistance the needles are drawnbeneath the fabric supporting bed. Theneedle cylinder comprises two series of needles, one of which may berendered idle during the knitting 'of o vporting cage is provided forreceiving the knitted product, and a take-up is located adjacent theupper end of the cage, which not only assists in taking the fabric fromthe needles as it is knitted, but also in packing the knitted product inthe cage;

During the rotation of the needle cylinder, the cage rotates therewith,and through its rotary action, the take-up rolls are operated. All ofthe parts above noted are controlled -by patternmechanism, whereby acomplete 'wardly pro ecting portion.

gear 6, rests upon the upper face of a sup ing needle slots in' each ofstocking may be produced and fashioned au' 3 tomatically.

Frame structure.

Describing the inachine more in detail and with special reference to thedrawings, sald' machine" consists of a main frame 1, which is supportedon suitable legs or standards 2. Said main frame is box like instructure and carries a supporting shelf 3, at its upper.

end. This supporting shelf projects forwardly toward the front of themachine and the needle cylinder 4, is located in saidfor- The parts ofthe machine are operated by the main shaft 5, which extends transverselythrough the supporting frame 1. It will be noted as Y more clearly shownin I, that the needle cylinderis directly in front of the .oper-' atingparts, for controlling the same, and,

N eealle cylinder needles. The needle cylinder 4, extends through anopening 5, in the supporting shelf 3, andis entirely free from saidshelf so that said needle cylinder may be raised and lowered relative tosaid shelf. The needle cylinder at its lower end is attached to a gear6, by suitable screws 7, (see Fig. V). The

porting bed 8, which through said gear, supports the needle cylinder.The support ing bed 8, is mounted on a'bracket arm 9,

carried by a standard 10, (see Fig. 11). The standard 10, is supportedby, suitably spaced brackets 11, and is free to move upand down therein.'The, needle cylinder is providedWvith-a series of .spaced ribsformwhich is mounted a needle jack 12, carrying the needle 13.

The needle jack 12, is of substantially the same width as the ribs 011the needlecylin der. This jack is also in thickness substantially thesame as the width of the needle slot or the distance between twoadjacent ribs 'on the cylinder, so that when the jacks are in place thecylinder at this point is substantially one solid band. This not only--strengthens the-cylinder and allows a very small cylinder to be madewith'narro'w ribs, so that the needles may face of the jack relative totheusual needle formed -with an integral butt, gives'a much .j'.=,m()l.'eeflicient wearing surface and lubricating surface for theneedle supporting parts.

7 be placed very close. together, but the comparatively large surlhe-needle 13, as clearly shown in Fig. V,

is bent outwardly over the upper end of the ack, and, extends along thefront of the jack. The needles are heldin their jacks and in the needlecylinder by'flexible bands 16. The jack is held in end by the needle,while the lower end of the jack is held in place by the cam ring Thismanner of holding and stitch cams. the jack in the needle slot avoidsthe use of extra flexible bands for the jack and allows the jack andneedles to be shortened so that.

a very short needle cylinder may be used.

The upper orhook end ofthe needle as clearly shown in Figs. XXIV, andXXVI, is madecomparatively wide at its extreme upper part -17. Thepurpose of this particular shaping of needles is to allow the yarnengaged by the needle to move freely through the'hook of the needle andthe needle to draw off the yarn for the stitch,

place 'at its upper as will behereinafter more fully described.

Needle cylinder operating meansf The needle cylinder is supported, asabove noted, so as to move freely up and down in the opening in theshelf 3. In order that the machine may have the capacity of knittingstockings, the cylinder is provided with mechanism whereby the same maybe rotated at intervals and may be oscillated at intervals., The needlecylinder is rotated and oscillated bya gear 18, which gear is secured toa bevel gear 19, by screws 20, (see Fig.

V), The gear 19, is rigidly attached to a vertical shaft 21, which ismounted torotate in a vertical bearing 22.. The shaft 21, is secured atits upper end to a collar 23, by a set screw. The hardened metal plate24, is fastened to the upper end of the shaft '21,

bya screw 25. This-hardened metal" plate 24, rests on the upper end ofthe collar 23. I a

The collar-23, serves as thebearing for supporting the vertical shaft21, and holding the same properly seated in, the bearing sleeve 22. .Anywear may be taken up by loosening the collar 23, and turning thescrew'25', which willraise theshaft 21, 1n the bearing sleeve 22, afterwhich the collar" 23, is again readily connected to the shaft.

The bearing sleeve 22, extends through the opening. 26, in the shelf 3,and is mounted on,suitable brackets or lugscarried by said shelf. Thegear 18, is considerably wider than; the gear 6, which attached to thelower end of the cylinder 4, so that the cylinder-.4, may be raised andlowered without moving the gear 6, out of operative connection withthegear 18, which has nolatoral or vertical movement. The bevel gear 19, onthe lower end of thevertical shaft '21, meshes with the bevel 27, whichis integrally formed with sleeve 28, fixed on the central or drivingshaft 5. The. fast driving pulley 30, is attached to a sleeve 31,mounted end, the sleeve 31, carries the pinion 32,

which meshes with a gear wheel 33, on the countershaft 34. A gear wheel35, is rigidly secured to the gear wheel 33, and rotates freely on thecountershaft. This gear wheel 35, meshes with a pinion 36, on a secondsleeve 37, which rotates freely on the first named sleeve 31. Thissecond sleeve 37, is rigidly connected to the slow speed driving pulley38.

A loose pulley 39 is mounted to rotate freely on the outer sleeve 37.The two sleeves 31, and 37, and the shaft 5, are all mounted in asuitable bearing 40. The shaft 5, at its other end is mounted in a;bearing 41. The bearings 40, and 41, are secured to the main frame. Apinion 42, is loosely mounted on the shaft 5, and gears with the segmentgear 43, which is pivoted to swing about the supporting axis.45. The

segmental ear 43, is connected by a link 46,

to a stud 4 secured to the outer face of the gear wheel 33. This stud47, may be readily adjusted on the gear wheel to vary the stroke of thesegment. The stud in effect forms a crank arm which, as the gear wheelrotates,

oscillates the segment back and forth about its axis 45, and in turnrotates the pinion 42. The sleeve 28, carrying the bevel gear 27, may beclutched either to the pinion 42, or to the pinion 32, by a clutch pm50,- which as herein shown, is mounted to slide in the sleeve 28, and isformed with tapered outer ends. The pinion 42, has a tapered socket I51, adapted to receive the tapered end of the clutch pin 50, and thepinion 32, has a simi lar socket 52, adapted to receive the othertapered end of the clutch pin. A clutch sleeve 53, surrounds the sleeve28, and the screw 55 extends through the clutch sleeve 53, and

through a slot in the sleeve 28, and is connected tothe clutch pin 50,so that as the clutch sleeve 53, is shifted to the right, the pinion 32,will be locked to the sleeve 28, and through the gears 27, 19,and 18,any rotation given to the pinion 32, will be conveyed to the cylinder.inasmuch as the pinion 32, is connected directly to the fast pulley 30,through the sleeve 31, when the clutch pin is in the position shown inFig. VIII, the cylinder will be rotated through the parts named. Whenthe clutch pin is shifted to the extreme left, so as to connect thepinion 42, to the sleeve 28, then thepinion 32, will be free fromthesleeve 28, and as this pinion rotates, the gear 33, will be rotated,which inturn through the crank pin or stud 47 will oscillate thesegmental gear 43, and in turn rotate the pinion 42, and, as the segmentoscillates first one way and thenthe other, the pinion 42, will berotated first in one direction and then inthe other. This rotation ofthe pinion 42, in reverse directions will through the sleeve 28, towhich it is then racemes than when the gear wheel 33, is driven Thisoscillating of the cylinder through the pinion 32, and its connectionwith the high speed pulley 30.

Clutch shifting and speed changing mecha, mlsm.

As a means for shifting the clutch so as to cause the cylinder to rotateor to oscillate, as desired, I have provided a clutch shifting lever 60,(see Figs. III, and IX). A rod 61, is mounted to reciprocatelongitudinally in the supporting frame 1, and said rod is provided witha sleeve 62, which carries a fork arm 63, adapted to engage the groove65,. between the collars on the clutch shifting sleeve 53, so that whenthe rod 61, is moved in one direction, the clutch sleeve will be carriedtherewith, and when said rod is moved in the other direction, the clutchsleeve will,

be given a reverse movement. A second collar 6,6, is carried by the rod61, and is formed with a lug 67. This lug 67, lies between the forkedarms 68, and 69, carried by the upper end of the clutch shifting lever60. The arm- 68, is provided with a screw 70, while the arm 69, isprovided with'a screw? 1. These screws are so positioned, that there isa slight lost motion between the clutch shifting lever 60, and the lug67. Inthe manipulation of the clutch pin, it is desired that said pinshould be moved far enough to seat firmly in the tapered socket in thepart which it engages, but any further movement-of the clutch pin wouldcause a binding of the pinion against its bearing, and,,if the clutchpin is not moved for enough to be properly seated, then thereis a lostmotion between the driving parts.

a further throw to the clutch pin. The other adjustments of these screwsin order to properly position the clutch pin will be obvious.

The shifting lever 60, is controlled by a clutch drum 72, mounted on across shaft 73, journaled in suitable bearings in the frame 1. Thisclutch dIIIIH,lS made up of a cylinder having outer ribs and cam blocks74, which are properly positioned onthe outer face of the drum to form acam recess, which receives a roller carried by the lower end of theshiftinglever 60. By the proper rotating of the clutch drum 72, thelever 60, may be-shifted so as to controlthe clutch and cause thecylinder to rotate d ura ing theproper. interval forcircularkliittingand to causethe cylinder to oscillate during the properinterval for forming a heel or toe pocket.

' tion, the pawling ratchetfis set on the shaft and thedrum may beadjusted relative to the pawling ratchet, by, adjustingthe screw 78.This adjustment aids, in assembling of the parts to properly positionthe shifting drum 72, so as. to bring its cam "shoulders into action inthe proper timed relation to the other parts of the machine. This adustment provides a means for taking up any wear in. the cam 'plates 74,and also takes strain of clutching from the screwszin th pawling ratchetand clutch drum,

As ameans for shifting-the belt from the fast pulley to, the slowpulley,I have provided a belt shifting lever 80, which is pivoted at 81,to a rod 82, freely mounted in suitable hearings on the side frame ofthe machine,-see Fig. I. This belt shifting lever 80, is formed withprojecting fingers 83, between which the belt passes. By shifting thelever 80, the 'belt will be shifted from one pulley to the other. I

The arm 85, is fixedly mounted on the rod 82, and is moved by-thespring'86, so that the bearing lug 87, carried by the arm 85, is heldagainst a shifting cam 88. As the will move the arm 85, away from theframe,

" or allow the same tobe moved toward the frame of the machine throughthe action of the spring 86. The latch 90, is pivoted to the other endof 'the arm 85, and said latch is formed with a notch 91, ada ted toengage a pin on the back side of the elt shifting lever 80. A handle 92,is provided for manually releasing the latch 90. A spring 95, isconnected to one of the arms 83, and to the frame of the machine, andthis spring normally tends to throw the belt to the loose pulley whenreleased by lifting the latch 90. When the latch is in engagement withthe pin on the belt shifting lever.

80, said lever will then be controlled by the shifting cam 88. Theshifting cam 88, is rigidly attached to the outer end of 'the shaft 73,and this shaft is controlled by a. patttern mechanism. to be hereinafterdescri ed.

This clutch drum 72, is freely mountedon described.

Stitch cm.

The needles are raised and lowered during the normal knitting action bystitch cams which engage the butts 14, of the needle jacks. These stitchcams are secured to a cam ring 100, see Fig. XIV. The stitch cams arecomposed of suitable blocks 101 and 102, which are so positioned as toform a cam groove to receive the needle butts, and to thereby raise andlower the needles.

'I have shown herein two stitch cams, both of which are inaction duringthe oscillatlon of the cylinder, so that one of them effectively engagesthe needle butts when the cylinder oscillates in one direction and theother engages the needle butts when the cylinder oscillates in theopposite direction. The right hand stitch cam as shown in-Fig. XIV, isthe only operative cam durmg the rotation of the needle cylinder. In

'order to render the stitch cams 101, and

102, effective or ineffective, I have provided switch cams 103, and 104,respectively, which are pivoted in suitable brackets carried by thesupporting shelf v3,'these switch cams are spring-pressed, whereby theyare normally held 1n contact with the edges of their respective cams101, and 102., If the needle cylinder is rotating in the direction ofthe arrow shown in this figure, then the switch cam 103,. will beineffective, and will ride lightly on the butts of the needles, whilethe switch cam 104, shown at the right, will engage. the needle buttsand carry the same down into the main stitch cam.

During the oscillation of the cylinder, the long butt needles on oneseries ofthe needles will have been positioned entirely above the stitchcams as will be hereinafter more fully rm feed.

The yarn feed as herein shown, consists of a yarn feeding-loop 105,which is rigidly secured to'a bracket arm 106, mounted on the rod 107,secured in suitable brackets 108, on the supporting frame or shelf 3, atthe upper side of the main frame. 107 is capable of being oscillated inits supporting bracket to move the yarn feed out of operative position.During the entire action of the machine. the yarn feed is in fixedposition, and is located close to the needles and directly over the yarnsupporters. The stitch cams are so located relative to the yarn feedthat the knitting point indicated at 109, in Fig. XIV, is in advance ofthe yarn feed. Said knitting point is also in advance of the tangentialpoint of a line passing through the yarn feed and touching the needlecylinder, 8017118.], the yarn extending from the knitting point to Thisrod the yarnfeed will be thrown snugly against the shanks of theneedles. 7

Beard depressors.

Each needle is'provided with a beard depressor 110, which is mounted inthe needle slot directly over the needle jack. The depressors alsoextend between the fabric supporting members and the active edge isenlarged to fill the entire space between said members, so that theheard of the needle. will be engaged by the depressor with certainty. av

The upper end of the beard depressors is formed so as to engage anddepress the beard of the needle and allow the loop on the needle shankto be shed over the spring beard. The beard depressors are each formedwith a butt adapted to engage operating cams 111, see Fig. XIV. Theseoperatingcams 111, are carried by a member supported from the cam ring112. The cam ring 112, rests on the ring 113, which is secured to theupper end of the needle cylinder. Said cam ring 112, is held stationaryby the posts 115, which are mounted on the supporting shelf 3. Screws116, engage each side of the posts 115, and serve as a means forangularly adjusting the ring 112, relative to the thread feed. The rings112, and 113, move vertically with the needle cylinder, and the ring113', rotates therewith. As a means for securing the ring 113, to theneedle cylinder, I have provided a brass ring 117, see Fig. V, which isseated in the inner face of the ring 113, and is clamped against theribs of the needle cylinder 4, by screws 118. This provides a means forfirmly clamping the supporting ring 113, to the needle cylinder withoutinjury to the cylinder ribs or the binding of the needles or depressors.The supporting ring 112, may be adjusted diametrically to the needlecylinder by screws 119; this allows for the taking up of any wearbetween the parts and the centering of the supporting ring relative tothe rotating V cylinder.

The depressors for the spring beards of the needles and the operatingmechanism therefor form no part of the present invention, but are shown,described and claimed prior Letters Patent of the United Sgtges No.943,230, dated December 14th,

abrio depressors and yarn supporters.

In my present machine I do not use strictly speaking, any sinkers forpositioning the yarn about the shanks of the needles. The position ofthe yarn feed rela tive to the knitting point draws the yarntangentially against the shank of the needles and serves one function ofthe sinkers. The downward -movement of the needles below thefabricsupporting bed draws 0E the yarn for-the stitch and serves the otherfunction of the usual sinkers. I do however, use a fabric depressor forholdingvthe the supporting ring 113, andare moved back and forth by cams121, carried by the lower side of the supporting ring 112.

These cams 121, are shown in Figs. IV, and XXI, and are so constructedas to'mo ve the fabric depressors back and forth in the proper timerelations to the point of stitch formation. 'Said members are withdrawnat the knitting points, by the cam inclines 121, (see Fig. XXI, anddotted lines in Fig. IV), to an extent just suflicientto allow theneedle loops to be carried down past the ends of the supporters, and areagain thrown inwardby the cam inclines shown at 125". In oscillatoryknitting, on the return movement, the partial withdrawal of the yarnsupporters by the cam inclines 121, again occurs, but the yarnsupporters are immediately thrown inward again by the cam inclines at125". Said "fabric depressors are also withdrawn at a point central ofthe stitch cam, or opposite the yam feed by the cam incline at 121, sothat during the reversal of themovement of the cylinder, during theoscillating of'the same, the yarn is released'from around the end of thefabric depressors, as is usual in connection with the withdrawal of theweb holders in ordinary latch needle knitting. The yarn supportersare-however, moved inward between the point directly opposite thefeeding of the yarn and the knitting point by 'one or the other of thecam inclines 125, according to the direction of motion, in order tosupport the. yarn as above noted. During oscillatory knitting,

active needle is not supported at the proper height. before the beardclosing action occurs, it may be penetrated by the heard ,when theneedle descends, or may :be entirely missed. Hence it is essential thatbefore the closure of the heard of the leading needles at the

